Toyota Road Report: August 8-13

The South Bend Cubs have done exactly what they have needed to in each of the last two six-game series. Against Midwest League West Division opponents, South Bend has taken four of six games away from both the Peoria Chiefs on the road, and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers at home.

With those series wins, South Bend is only four games back of a playoff spot in the West. Now, they’ll travel east to a place they know very well, mainly because of celebratory purposes. Classic Park in Eastlake, Ohio, home of the Lake County Captains.

Let’s take you back to September, 21, 2022. A night that will be remembered forever in South Bend Cubs history. After losing Game 1 of the 2022 Midwest League Championship series to the Captains, the Cubs stormed back to win Game 2 and force a winner-take-all championship game in the suburbs of Cleveland.

The Cubs lifted their second Midwest League Championship Trophy in three seasons, and they celebrated the night away in Ohio. First, a locker room party, then a night on the town. There were blue championship shirts, hugs and high fives everywhere, pictures being taken and flashes going everywhere, and more. It was a spectacular night.

Now, nearly a year later, Lake County will welcome the Cubs back to Classic Park in very different circumstances.

South Bend is right in the middle of another playoff race. The Cubs are riding back-to-back series wins, and are starting to put things together with some brand new additions to the roster mixing with guys who have been around for most of the year.

Lake County is struggling. The Captains have lost six straight games, are 4.5 games back of the Dayton Dragons and Fort Wayne TinCaps for the top spot in the East Division, and they have lost a significant amount of talent from last year’s team to higher levels.

The Cubs have a pretty much complete different roster too, but the difference is South Bend has restocked with all kinds of capable young players. Lake County is looking for that consistent firepower to get them back in the East Division race.

This is the second 12-game road trip of the year for South Bend. And even though they are not playing any West Division opponents, all the Cubs can think about is taking care of business no matter who the opposition is. As long as South Bend is taking care of whose in front of them, the rest will shake out. After all, we’ve seen that over and over in 2019 and 2022.

Players to watch on Lake County…

Kahlil Watson, INF: This road trip will feature the South Bend Cubs seeing a player on both the Lake County Captains and the West Michigan Whitecaps who started the season with the Beloit Sky Carp. In the case of Lake County, it’s speedy infielder Kahlil Watson. The former number-one draft pick of the Miami Marlins was shipped off in a trade to the Cleveland Guardians at this year’s deadline that featured Josh Bell going to the Marlins for Watson and Jean Segura. The veteran Segura was quickly waived by Cleveland, so it practically ended up being Bell for Watson in the deal. Watson has struggled, hitting just .206 at Beloit to start this year. But he’s still wildly young at just 20-years-old. High-A Baseball is supposed to be tough for players under 21. It has been for Watson, but he has had some marquee moments against the Cubs this year. None stand out more than the series finale in Beloit back on July 3, when the Sky Carp executed a major comeback that was headlined by Watson stealing home to tie the game in the 9th inning. It was a complete risk on Watson’s part, but it paid off as Beloit came back to win the game. Watson’s speed and agility is a monstrous part of what makes him dangerous. If he reaches base, Cubs pitching will have to keep a close eye on him. And at the moment, after he was ranked as a top-5 prospect with the Marlins, he is now the number-14 prospect with the Guardians.

Alaska Abney, RHP: One of the most reliable relievers in the Midwest League from 2022 is still in a Captains uniform here in August. Alaska Abney was a work horse last year for Lake County, appearing in 42 games and finishing with a 2.54 ERA. Usually, those types of numbers will translate to being able to go up to Double-A. The Guardians chose to keep Abney with Lake County to start this year, and it did not go well to start. His ERA at the moment sits at 6.17, but that does not tell the entire story. Abney really struggled in April, posting an ERA over 13.00 that month, and the outing that did him in was April 26 at Dayton where he gave up eight runs, all earned, out of the bullpen in three innings. He surrendered 17 runs all of last season. Also last year, batters only hit .135 against him. The Guardians must have seen something they did not like in Spring Training to send him back to High-A. The good news now for him, as of late, he’s been a lot better. Abney had his best month of the year in May and had a 1.35 ERA that month to look a lot more like himself. But he struggled again in June giving up seven runs in 8.2 innings. Again, as he has teeter-tottered around this year, July was really solid and he only gave up three runs in seven outings. What kind of Alaska Abney will be see in July you ask? The answer is we’ll see. He’s only worked in one game this month at West Michigan, where he faced one singular batter, and got him out. Still, if Abney can be anywhere close to where he was last year, he’s a legit bullpen piece that is extremely tough to face.

Chase DeLauter, OF: When it comes to the MLB Draft, it’s a sweet 16 party in Lake County. Kahlil Watson was the 16th overall pick in 2021 to the Marlins, and the Guardians took outfielder Chase DeLauter with the 16th selection in 2022. Playing at prestigious James Madison in college, DeLauter is a massive human at 6’4’’ and 235 pounds at just 21-years-old. DeLauter has only played 18 games with Lake County since being promoted from the Arizona Complex League, but in those 18 games he has mashed. .362 is the average with a homer and 13 RBI. This guy can rake. Scouts love him too. MLB.com writes, “DeLauter offers a rare combination of size, athleticism, plate discipline and performance. His bat speed, strength and leverage combine to give him well above-average raw power to all parts of the ballpark, and he lets his power come naturally with an extremely disciplined approach.” Although the Captains have had a bunch of roster turnover, DeLauter has been outstanding with a .945 OPS with Lake County. The Cubs will have their hands full, and South Bend is going to have to shut him down. On the flip side, if Lake County wants to break out of their 6-game skid and compete for the division, they will need DeLauter to do similar things for them that Pete Crow-Armstrong and Owen Caissie did for the Cubs last year.

Players to watch on South Bend…

Luis Devers, RHP: How can you not start the South Bend trio with the reigning Midwest League Pitcher of the Week? Luis Devers is back. The Chicago Cubs 2022 Minor League Pitcher of the Year had his best week of 2023 so far, and that was after his initial victory of 2023 in Peoria in the last road series. In total, Devers earned two wins against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, throwing 10 combined innings with zero runs allowed, three hits, one walk, and 14 (!) total strikeouts. It’s hard to pick what start Devers looked better in. He punched out the first man he faced in each game on three pitches. On Sunday, Devers was perfect through 3.2 innings, and he had eight strikeouts. That was only one away from tying a career high. Devers absolutely stormed through this week, and he game planned perfectly against Wisconsin. The Rattlers are a lineup packed with left-handed hitters, and Devers’ changeup is so lethal to lefties, and all hitters for that matter. But the changeup on the outside half to lefties from Devers is a nightmare to them. He has won three straight starts, and now returns to Classic Park, where he started Game 2 of the Championship Series in 2022, and he helped the Cubs extend that series. As Devers keeps up this pace, he deservedly will get the call to Double-A Tennessee eventually. But while he’s here, we’re glad to have him.

Matt Shaw, SS: With 2022 Midwest League Champions Luis Devers, Luis Verdugo, Sheldon Reed, and others on the Cubs roster, there is also an influx of new talent packing the roster. None with more hype around them than these next two guys. First, Matt Shaw. The Chicago Cubs 1st-round pick, and 13th overall out of the Maryland Terrapins program has seemed to gel without any hiccups to pro baseball. In a short stint with the Arizona Complex League Cubs, Shaw went 4/8 with a home run. His first swing with the South Bend Cubs back on Tuesday was a triple off the wall in right-center. He played four games against Wisconsin, going 4/14 with just one strikeout. He also took two walks. He looks everything like a 1st-rounder should. And it’s exciting for Cubs fans. On Sunday, in Game 2 of the doubleheader, Shaw brought in his first two RBI with the South Bend Cubs on a bases loaded single, which helped the Cubs win the game 3-0. Shaw reminds you a lot of Nico Hoerner during his first run here in South Bend back in 2018. Not just because Nico’s first series was also against Wisconsin, but also their mannerisms and approach to the game are very similar. When interviewing Matt after the game Sunday, it connected me a lot to what Nico talked about during his short time in South Bend. Chill guys, professional approach, loves baseball, excellent glove, bat can do it all. Matt Shaw is going to be a heck of a baseball player, and he’s getting his start in South Bend.

Josh Rivera, INF: What a treat it was this week for South Bend Cubs fans getting to see the High-A debuts of both Matt Shaw and Josh Rivera. The former Florida Gator in Rivera played in five games with the Cubs last week, but was in action everyday. He just did not play both of the doubleheader games on Sunday. In all, Rivera went 5/17 with a pair of doubles, two RBI, four walks, and his strongest day coming on Friday with three base hits, two of them being two-baggers. Rivera is a little different from Shaw where he can definitely play shortstop, but Rivera’s future may be at third base. It’s obviously a weapon to have a guy that can smoke the ball like Rivera can, and that can play multiple infield spots. Rivera has a good arm at third, he’s tall, well-built, and is only going to keep growing at just 22-years-old. Rivera already is very strong and comes from a program where they take care of their athletes in the SEC, just like Shaw in the Big-10. Once Shaw and Rivera really put the professional muscle on, that’s going to be amazingly fun to watch.

Schedule….

Tuesday, August 8 - 7:00 PM ET: RHP Brody McCullough vs. LHP Steve Hajjar

Wednesday, August 9 - 12:05 PM ET: RHP Tyler Santana vs. LHP Parker Messick

Thursday, August 10 - 7:00 PM ET: TBD vs. RHP Ethan Hankins

Friday, August 11 - 7:00 PM ET: RHP Connor Noland vs. LHP Ryan Webb

Saturday, August 12 - 7:00 PM ET: RHP Luis Devers vs. RHP Aaron Davenport

Sunday, August 13 - 7:00 PM ET: RHP Michael Arias vs LHP Steve Hajjar

Catch the entire six-game series in Lake County on Sports Radio 960 AM WSBT, online at wsbtradio.com, or on MiLB.com with Max Thoma on the call.